(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	18 Jun 2026	11.2	2.725 AU	2.800 AU	10h44m	+02°22'	75.2°	21.1°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48512
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40716
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01658
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-06-18 00:00 UT   10 44 10.0   +02 22 33     2.800    2.725   75.2   21.1   114   11.2 
2026-06-18 22:15 UT   10 45 10.5   +02 18 03     2.814    2.726   74.6   21.1   114   11.2 
2026-06-19 00:00 UT   10 45 15.3   +02 17 42     2.815    2.726   74.6   21.1   114   11.2 
2026-06-20 00:00 UT   10 46 21.2   +02 12 46     2.829    2.728   73.9   21.0   114   11.2 
2026-06-21 00:00 UT   10 47 27.5   +02 07 45     2.844    2.730   73.2   20.9   114   11.2 
2026-06-22 00:00 UT   10 48 34.3   +02 02 39     2.858    2.732   72.6   20.8   114   11.2 
2026-06-23 00:00 UT   10 49 41.6   +01 57 29     2.872    2.733   71.9   20.7   114   11.2 
2026-06-24 00:00 UT   10 50 49.3   +01 52 14     2.887    2.735   71.3   20.6   114   11.2 
2026-06-25 00:00 UT   10 51 57.4   +01 46 54     2.901    2.737   70.6   20.5   114   11.2 
2026-06-26 00:00 UT   10 53 06.0   +01 41 30     2.915    2.739   69.9   20.4   114   11.2 
2026-06-27 00:00 UT   10 54 15.0   +01 36 02     2.929    2.740   69.3   20.3   114   11.2 
2026-06-28 00:00 UT   10 55 24.4   +01 30 29     2.943    2.742   68.6   20.2   114   11.3 
2026-06-29 00:00 UT   10 56 34.2   +01 24 52     2.957    2.744   68.0   20.1   115   11.3 
2026-06-30 00:00 UT   10 57 44.4   +01 19 11     2.971    2.745   67.4   20.0   115   11.3 
2026-07-01 00:00 UT   10 58 55.0   +01 13 26     2.985    2.747   66.7   19.9   115   11.3 
2026-07-02 00:00 UT   11 00 05.9   +01 07 37     2.999    2.749   66.1   19.8   115   11.3 
2026-07-03 00:00 UT   11 01 17.3   +01 01 43     3.013    2.750   65.4   19.6   115   11.3 
2026-07-04 00:00 UT   11 02 29.0   +00 55 46     3.026    2.752   64.8   19.5   115   11.3 
2026-07-05 00:00 UT   11 03 41.0   +00 49 45     3.040    2.754   64.2   19.4   115   11.3 
2026-07-06 00:00 UT   11 04 53.4   +00 43 40     3.054    2.755   63.5   19.3   115   11.3 
2026-07-07 00:00 UT   11 06 06.2   +00 37 31     3.067    2.757   62.9   19.2   115   11.3 
2026-07-08 00:00 UT   11 07 19.3   +00 31 18     3.081    2.759   62.3   19.0   115   11.3 
2026-07-09 00:00 UT   11 08 32.7   +00 25 02     3.094    2.760   61.6   18.9   115   11.3 
2026-07-10 00:00 UT   11 09 46.4   +00 18 42     3.107    2.762   61.0   18.8   116   11.3 
2026-07-11 00:00 UT   11 11 00.5   +00 12 18     3.120    2.763   60.4   18.7   116   11.3 
2026-07-12 00:00 UT   11 12 14.9   +00 05 51     3.134    2.765   59.8   18.5   116   11.4 
2026-07-13 00:00 UT   11 13 29.6   +00 00 40     3.147    2.767   59.1   18.4   116   11.4 
2026-07-14 00:00 UT   11 14 44.6   +00 07 14     3.160    2.768   58.5   18.3   116   11.4 
2026-07-15 00:00 UT   11 15 60.0   +00 13 52     3.173    2.770   57.9   18.1   116   11.4 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.